


The Breaking of Loops

by ZombieBabs



Category: Tin Man (2007)
Genre: Drama, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Nightmares, Sleepovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-27
Updated: 2014-02-27
Packaged: 2018-01-13 22:41:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1243192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZombieBabs/pseuds/ZombieBabs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the downfall of the witch, Glitch is still Glitch. He may not be able to remember things consciously, but Glitch's sleep is disturbed with memories.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Breaking of Loops

He looks like a sleeping puppy, sometimes. Curled up in a ball, an arm thrown over his head so that the zipper is completely obscured. He'll whimper and shift his long legs, like a dog dreaming of chasing rabbits. A mumbled word, incoherent in sleep, will sometimes escape and he'll curl up more tightly into himself, protecting vulnerabilities he doesn't show when awake.

He's usually the first one to drop into sleep on most nights, usually mid-sentence. It's not long after that the dreams begin.

It makes Raw nervous. He can feel the emotions the zipper-headed man gives off, even with the few feet of distance between them. Cain frowns, but does his best to ignore it.

When Toto joins the group, he surprises us by being the first to do something. He curls next to Glitch, head on his paws, as if guarding the man. Sometimes, that small presence is enough to quiet Glitch. Sometimes, he'll slip his arm around the dog and hold Toto close. It would be cute, if it weren't so sad.

What kills me is that there is rarely a night where Glitch doesn't sleep all the way through. Locked into nightmares while the moon reigns, up and at 'em as soon as the sun blinks over the horizon, blinking at friends who have traveled together for days, without a trace of familiarity in his eyes.

It all snaps back, given a minute or two. The trust and friendship leaks back into his face and he smiles as if the whole night never happened. The first night that he'd woken up and found Toto with him, he'd innocently asked if the dog had felt cold during the night.

We smile at him, pretending to know nothing of troubled nights, while knowing that it will only be repeated when the suns go down next. It's difficult to ignore the dark circles under his eyes, but we manage.

After the defeat of the evil witch, Glitch's sleep is still disturbed. We haven't found a way to return his brain to him yet. Cain says that the State has never had to reverse a brain removal. He doubts whether it can even be done at all.

We don't allow him to sleep alone anymore. Not after the first day back in the castle, when Glitch had been startled awake by unfamiliar noises and couldn't remember where he was. In his attempt to escape, he'd taken out quite a few of the palace guard before Cain, suffering from his own insomnia, had found and restrained him. Now, we take turns staying the night with him. All of us, except Raw, who has gone back to his home with the Viewers.

Az spent the night last night. It's my turn to 'sleep over,' as Glitch lovingly calls it. He's sleeping, quietly for now, hidden under a heavy quilt. His old coat is strewn across the bottom of the bed, where his feet should be if he weren't curled on his side. We haven't been able to get him to part with it. He's had that coat for so long that I have the feeling it's been the only comfort he's had for years. It's the only object that links him to his past.

On a table between the two beds that take up a majority of the room, there is a small glass bottle with his name on it. It's an Ozian version of a sedative, prescribed in case of a repeat performance of the first night. I'm glad we haven't needed to resort to drugs, at least. He shouldn't have to be sedated. He should have had his brain back by now. He should be living his normal life, or have the chance to live a normal life, like the rest of our ragtag group.

Az and I have our lessens. Cain and his son live in the palace as part of the royal guard. Raw was welcomed home as a hero when he returned with all of the Viewers the witch had kept captive. Everyone, including my robot parents, have found their purpose and places in life. Everyone except Glitch.

Glitch spends most of his time being poked and prodded by doctors and scientists trying to find a way to get his brain back in his head. For a couple hours a day, he wanders through Ambrose's old quarters and laboratory. He's frustrated, under that lopsided smile, with not being able to remember. To be unable to be the man everyone who knew him expects him to be.

The bed next to mine begins to shift. Taking a page out of Toto's book, I get up and go to sit on my knees beside him. If I lean forward, I can hear that he's begun to mutter something into his pillow.

“...96...95...94...”

My stomach drops, knowing exactly what Glitch is seeing behind closed eyes. Glitch strapped down to a table, pleading for the alchemist to stop. He can't go through this again, even if it's only a dream, even if he never seems to remember it upon waking.

“Glitch,” I call to him, soft by firm. “Glitch, you gotta wake up, buddy.”

He groans a little and the blanket moves.

“C'mon, Glitch.” My hand finds his shoulder and I shake him a little.

He cries out, suddenly, and grabs my arm from under the blanket. His grip is surprisingly strong. “No!”

He sits up and I can see the fight for remembrance in his eyes, still not entirely awake. “Who are—Oh! DG! What's the matter?”

He rubs at the skin under his eyes and pushes a stray spike out of his eyes. He's wearing his red and black striped shirt, clean now, and a pair of black sleep pants. He loves that ridiculous shirt. I'll have to remember to get him a new one soon. Maybe then he'll throw the old one out.

“It's nothing.” I say, “You were just having a bad dream.”

“Really? Well, a bad dream is better than no dream, huh?” His joke falls flat, but he laughs anyway. I manage a smile.

“Are you okay, Deej? You don't looks so hot.”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. Why don't you try getting back to sleep now?”

He yawns, jaw cracking. He grins, sheepish, and lays back against the pillow. I help cover him with the quilt, feeling vaguely maternal. I'm in the process of moving over to my bed when he calls me back. “Hey, Deej?”

I stop and look down at him, peeking out from under the blanket as he is. He's so child-like sometimes, cute but so naive.

“Will—will—will—will,” he shakes himself out of the loop he'd been caught in, “Will you stay with me? I—I—I mean, just for a while. I know you need your sleep, but, I don't think I can fall asleep again on my own. Please?”

It's then that I realize that Glitch isn't as ignorant of his nightmares as he'd made us believe. “Sure, Glitch.”

I sit back down beside him on his bed and smile down at him. He shuts his eyes against the knowledge in mine and burrows a little further underneath the blanket. I card my fingers through his hair, careful not to bother the zipper that bisects his head. He sighs and relaxes a little. On a sudden thought, I put a little of my magic into it, concentrating on calm, safe thoughts.

I watch as he slowly drifts back into sleep. This time, he's uncurled himself and he breathes deeply, a small smile on his face.

“Sleep well,” I whisper as I get into my own bed. If he sleeps well tonight, it will only be a reprieve. We have got to do something for him, something more permanent. We've got to find something to break this loop.


End file.
